Completely Hypothetical
by Winter Sapphire
Summary: Brennan's hypothetical questions never came across quite as hypothetical as she meant them to. Speculation for season 4 finale spoilers, so beware! BB.


"Booth?"

Seeley Booth glanced up from his slice of pie to meet his partner's gaze. She was staring at him intently from across the table, face set in a look of determination. Booth frowned lightly and set down his fork. "What's up, Bones?"

The two of them had been sitting in near silence for the past half-hour. As soon as Clinton had left the diner she had instantly shown up, sliding into the chair across from him and ordering a cup of coffee before he even had a chance to register her appearance. He couldn't say he had been surprised--she _was_ Bones, after all--but he _had_ been insanely relieved. That talk with Clinton had worn him out emotionally and, for a reason Booth was only just beginning to comprehend, Bones' presence seemed to be all he needed to relax.

Brennan's forehead creased slightly as she stared at him, her words coming out slowly as she spoke, "You are a good father. A good man."

Booth grinned lazily at her, shrugging a shoulder. "I like to think I am."

"You _are_," she pressed, her fingers drumming idly on the table even as she kept her gaze locked on his. "Anthropologically speaking you're an alpha male--you take charge of situations and you like to be in control, but you also just want the community you live in to be safe and run smoothly." She nodded emphatically. "A good man."

Booth blinked at her. "I don't get where you're going with this, Bones."

Without missing a beat Brennan asked, "If for some reason I decided I _did_ want to bear a child of my own, would you be willing to be the father?"

Booth froze in mid-reach for his own coffee and it was his turn to stare at her intensely, his voice incredulous. "Uh, _what_?"

Missing the tone in his voice she began to repeat what she had said. "If for some reason I deci--"

"No, no," he cut her off in tight exasperation, pressing his thumbs to his temples. "I heard what you said." Brennan's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Then why'd you ask me to repeat it?"

"I didn't, I was just--ah, _Christ_." He ran a hand through his hair and licked his lips nervously before he met her gaze again. "Are you asking me to have sex with you? Because, you know, there are easier ways of asking."

If it were possible Booth thought she might have looked even more confused than he felt. "When did I ever mention having sexual intercourse?"

He raised his eyebrows at her, leaning a little forward across the table as he pointed out, "Baby making equals two partners in a tango, Bones. I thought you, of all people, would know _that_."

As if a switch had flicked in her mind Brennan's eyes started twinkling, her confused expression fading away as her lips quirked in barely-restrained amusement. It didn't take long for her to burst into the kind of laughter he hadn't heard since he had suggested the idea of a skeleton being rolled up inside of a carpet. The kind of laughter that came from her when she finally figured out why the answer to a joke told the day before was funny.

And while Booth wasn't quite sure _why_ she was suddenly laughing he would be lying if he said it wasn't infectious. His own lips quirked--once, twice--before he doubled over as well, clutching at the table with one hand and his stomach with the other as his body shook with peals of laughter.

"I'm sorry," she told him as she finally gained control of herself, wiping away a stray tear with her finger. "I guess I should have informed you that it was a completely hypothetical question."

"Or, I don't know, built up to it a little more," he informed her with a cheeky grin as he righted himself. "It was a _bit_ out of the blue. You can't blame me for being taken off guard."

Brennan smiled, her rare smile that Booth was convinced (illogically convinced, he was sure) she saved for him and him alone. His grin softened to match as he quickly paid the bill, standing up and holding out a hand to help her up as well. She didn't accept it (she rarely did), but she did loop her arm through his as they walked towards the door.

"Booth?" Brennan spoke softly as they neared the SUV and Booth tilted his head to look down at her as he fumbled with the keys.

"Hm?"

"Even though the question _was_ hypothetical..." she trailed off for just a second before finishing more firmly, "I did mean it in all seriousness."

"I know," he whispered gently, nudging her affectionately with his shoulder before sliding his arm out of hers and opening his door. "Ask me again when it's _not_ completely hypothetical, Bones, and I'll give you my answer then."

He knew he would never be able to say no to her, but he loved her too much to give her the answer now; he hoped in time she would realize that, too.

* * *

So I'm new to the Bones fandom. And by "new to the Bones fandom" I actually mean new to Bones itself. I've known about the show for a while but only recently have I gotten around to watching it. Funny story? I started it on the 19th of March--first episode of season one--and finished on the 29th. I watched seventy-four episodes, nearly four seasons, in a week and a half. Boy, was that enough to get my muse running inside of my head.

Okay, so on that note... I'm obviously new to writing the characters. I usually have a pretty good knack for picking up the personalities of different characters in different shows, but I'm a little bit wary on this one. It's a show with a lot more intellectual conversations than I'm used to writing. In fact, I wouldn't even have written this if I hadn't of gotten bored in my philosophy class and decided that instead of taking notes I was going to write fanfiction instead. I never like leaving things incomplete (except for multi-chapter fics, which I'm horrible at writing, but that's another story).

Anyway, any feedback would be _loved_. Adored, even. Cherished. Treasured. You get it, right? Tips on the characters--both Booth and Brennan and anyone else you just want to throw at me--would be amazing!

And I also hope you enjoyed this, too. :) First-runs are always fun, aren't they?

Thanks!

-WS


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